Chapter 8: More Bad Luck Than Good
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At the moment Lin Qian dodged, where he had been standing at the cave entrance, a blade light sliced down from above.
Wow!
The hard ground was instantly cut by the blade light, creating a deep trench over a yard deep.
If Lin Qian hadn't dodged in time, he'd likely have been cut in two by now.
Lin Qian flipped to his feet, his soul power bursting forth from within, enveloping his entire body as he stared intently at the cave entrance.
Standing there was a man with a scruffy beard, clad in a black-edged red robe, a blood-red saber hefted on his shoulder, as he stared menacingly with a grin.
"Great Spear Sect!" Lin Qian flexed his shoulder, locking eyes with the bearded man. "It seems you've found me already?"
"Heh, this little mouse sure is good at finding holes to crawl into." The bearded man lifted his blood-red saber and swung it broadly, pointing the tip directly at Lin Qian. "Little mouse, do you have any last words?"
As the bearded man finished speaking, Lin Qian's silhouette appeared right in front of him, his soul power-wrapped right fist crashing down fiercely towards his face.
The punching wind shrieked sharply, creating an unexpected pressure on the bearded man as Lin Qian's soul power-coated fist blasted towards him.
"Damn!" The scruffy man's face shifted, his easy demeanor vanished. He quickly raised his blood-red saber, his fiery soul power enveloping the blade.
Then, his right arm, holding the blood-red saber, exerted a forceful strike towards Lin Qian's incoming fist.
Boom!
A massive collision sounded. The scene of the bearded man slicing through Lin Qian's right fist did not unfold as anticipated.
Instead, the blood-red saber was hit with a terrifying force, causing the scruffy man to recoil several steps, his entire right arm going numb.
The bearded man stomped the ground forcefully, dissipating the force and steadying himself, then looked at Lin Qian with a somber gaze.
The opponent's right fist, directly struck by the blade's sharp edge, was unscathed except for a red mark. In contrast, a ripple like water spread across the saber blade.
"Judging by your looks, you're just sixteen yet you have Gathering Yuan Realm cultivation, resisting a fully armed Primordial Weapon with mere flesh." The scruffy man shook his right arm, grinning wickedly. "Just now, a youth akin to a comet has emerged in the Wanxiang Sect, incredibly strong in body, capable of suppressing Martial Artists in the Nirvana Realm."
"And I'm a Second Level Nirvana Realm. For you to repel me with bare fists, it seems you're that Wanxiang Sect genius, Young Emperor!"
Lin Qian remained silent to the scruffy man's words, which was tantamount to tacit admission. He had long discerned the man's Nirvana Realm cultivation.
He'd used a Concealing Talisman, yet was discovered. The man must be from the Nirvana Realm!
As for the title Young Emperor, he'd gained it purely because of his master.
What kept Lin Qian silent, however, was the faulty intelligence from the Great Spear Sect insider!
The info relayed to Wanxiang Sect claimed the Great Spear Sect dispatched ten Gathering Yuan Realm disciples, forty Shape Origin Realm disciples!
This team should've easily handled the combined forces of the Bai family and the Ye family, seeing as the Bai family only had two Shape Origin Realm Soul Martial Artists.
Yet such a squad didn't hold a candle to Lin Qian!
But now, in this valley, a Nirvana Realm Soul Martial Artist from the Great Spear Sect had appeared before Lin Qian.
"The intelligence was wrong." With this thought, Lin Qian couldn't help but take a deep breath. Now he couldn't ascertain how many from the Great Spear Sect had come to Bashan City, nor their strength.
"Liang Ren." At this moment, the scruffy man suddenly spoke, introducing himself to Lin Qian, "I want to see if the rumors are true, that a Youth Emperor can defeat a Nirvana Realm with sheer physical prowess!"
Upon the introduction from the man calling himself Liang Ren, Lin Qian focused himself once more, discarding other thoughts, and stated, "If so, come see for yourself."
Liang Ren gripped the saber with both hands, letting its blade face Lin Qian, as he exhaled turbid air.
Boom!
Suddenly, red soul power surged through Liang Ren's body, his feet exploding with force as he charged head-on towards Lin Qian.
"Aah!" As a Nirvana Realm, Liang Ren's speed was incredibly fast. His body transformed into a red shadow, rushing to Lin Qian in the blink of an eye.
The blood-red saber in his hand was swung down fiercely at Lin Qian's head from above.
The red soul power concentrated on the blade was massively compressed, and as Liang Ren swung the blood-red saber towards Lin Qian, it sliced the surrounding grass from the air pressure alone.
Bits of grass flew, like green waves rolling to the sides.
Lin Qian was undeterred, his expression unchanged. The pure white soul power from his hands intensified, and as he clenched his fists, the air around them burst!
As the blood-red saber came down, Lin Qian also delivered a punch, colliding with the blade.
At that moment, Liang Ren felt as if his saber was striking not Lin Qian's flesh, but solid steel instead.
"Argh!" Liang Ren, repelled by Lin Qian's punch, cried out continually as he wielding his blood-red saber, approached again aggressively.
His arms moved ceaselessly, the blood-red saber drawing red arcs mid-air, consistently slashing at Lin Qian.
Liang Ren seemed to be chopping aimlessly, yet cleverly masked his calculated strategy.
At present, only blood-red blades were descending upon Lin Qian. Moreover, sporadically emitted blood-colored blade lights from Liang Ren's saber carried immense power.
If Lin Qian attempted to forcibly block them with his fists, injury seemed inevitable.
Although these blade lights could be avoided by simple dodging, retreating would seal any escape route, forcing Lin Qian to bear the confrontation head-on.
For a time, the situation appeared to reach an impasse.
"Since this Liang Ren recognizes me, he should know, though I'm in Gathering Yuan Realm, my soul power is vast, skilled in prolonged combat. Attempting to outlast me is futile." Dealing with the constant stream of incoming blades, Lin Qian focused intently ahead, contemplating silently.
His formidable body, sturdy meridians, and larger dantian compared to ordinary Martial Artists ensured him an abundance of soul power far superior to his peers.
Moreover, the mysterious Martial Soul within him, even when not in cultivation, constantly exhaled nature's spiritual energy, converting it into soul power flowing throughout his body.
Thus, Lin Qian inherently did not fear depleting soul power, as his reserves were exceptionally deep.
Lin Qian's soul power richness and endurance in combat had spread alongside his Young Emperor title. Undeniably, Liang Ren, recognizing him, must have known this.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Lin Qian's fists continued to collide with Liang Ren's blood-red saber while he gradually retreated further into the valley.
"Understood, he's stalling for time." Instantly, Lin Qian comprehended this revelation, feeling some annoyance at the delayed realization.
Given the flawed intelligence, it was highly probable that other Nirvana Realm Martial Artists besides Liang Ren were present in the valley.
Liang Ren's previous words, coupled with his approach, seemingly aimed to exhaust and defeat him, were actually delaying tactics, awaiting reinforcements from the Great Spear Sect.
"In that case, let's deal with you first." With this thought, Lin Qian took a deep breath, stepping sideways to his right, launching a sudden punch.
Meanwhile, the blood-colored blade light obstructing Lin Qian's movements descended, meeting his unleashed punch.
Thud!
A dull collision resounded as the blood-colored blade light shattered under Lin Qian's punch, but a cut opened on his right arm, blood flowing forth.
This was the first time Lin Qian was injured in his bouts with Liang Ren.
Noticing Lin Qian's willingness to sustain injuries to break through his confinement, Liang Ren realized his tactic had been exposed, his expression shifting.
His expression drastically changed as he swiftly adjusted his saber's position, and now the red soul power on the blood-red saber burned intensely, transforming it into a fiery blade shrouded in blazing flames.
As soon as the blade transformed, Liang Ren pointed the saber tip towards the ground, swinging it upward towards Lin Qian.
"Fiery Flame Saber!"
Accompanied by Liang Ren's sharp shout, the sword light formed from intense flames soared off the blade, shooting towards Lin Qian.
Simultaneously, the raging flames on Liang Ren's blood-red saber vanished as though absorbed entirely by the blade light.
The fiery blade light, forged from scorching flames, sped towards Lin Qian, burning the ground into charred black earth along its path.
A soul skill, a Martial Arts ability of Soul Martial Artists, this Fiery Flame Saber was Liang Ren's Second Level Nirvana Realm all-out strike!
A regular Shape Origin Realm Martial Artist facing such a blade light would only meet one fate: reduced to ashes.
However, Lin Qian was not a regular Shape Origin Realm.
The fiery blade light, reflecting its intense red hue onto Lin Qian's face, approached him fast, yet he remained unfazed, merely reeling a fist to his waist as soul power frantically gathered, his muscles tensed.
"Tiger Roar!"
Just as the fiery blade light closed within an inch of Lin Qian, his eyes snapped wide open, roaring fiercely, both fists parallel as he struck forward.
Pure white soul power flowed forth from Lin Qian's fists, forming a massive tiger head.
This ethereal tiger head centered at Lin Qian's fists, emitting an invisible force as it charged headlong, colliding with the fiery blade light.
"Roar!"
The fist's gust swelled, akin to a Beast Emperor's roar reverberating throughout the forest.
The fiery blade light that seemed capable of incinerating all was suddenly destroyed, scattered into countless sparks by the roar.
Moreover, the invisible force from the roar passed through the scattered red glow, landing squarely on the dumbfounded Liang Ren.
"Ugh!" Scarlet blood spurted from Liang Ren's mouth as his body was blasted backwards into the cave behind him, the blood-red saber in his hand dropping to the ground.
Following this, the red light on the blood-red saber flashed, transforming into a palm-sized small knife and a red metal sphere.
"Ugh!" Suddenly, Lin Qian groaned as he knelt on the ground, pinching his chest with a Martial Artist's grip.
"Hahaha, Young Emperor, didn't expect this, did you?" Meanwhile, Liang Ren, with blood at the corner of his mouth, leaned on the cave wall, gradually emerged, wearing an expression full of triumph.
"The Nirvana Realm awakens numerous Martial Soul traits, and my blade soul's property happened to be fire poison, inducing paralysis," Liang Ren laughed loudly, observing the kneeling Lin Qian. "Now, you must feel your limbs weakening, unable to gather soul power, right?"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Just then, the lake surface behind Lin Qian exploded thrice, three figures leaping out amidst the high-splashing water.
"Is this it for me?" Sensing the three Nirvana Realm auras looming behind him, Lin Qian's heart sank to its depths.
Yet at this moment, an indistinct voice seemed to whisper in Lin Qian's ear.
"Your Majesty, endure please, reinforcements are on their way!"
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